The Hindu - The School Of Power Tennis
Tennis Saketh Myneni is upbeat on his selection into the Indian Davis Cup squad
ChampspeakJ. Vishnuvardhan, Suresh Krishna and Saketh Myneni in Hyderabad. (File photo)Photo:V V SUBRAHMANYAM
By strange coincidence, two Hyderabadis – Jagadeesan Vishnuvardhan
and Saketh Myneni – might well represent the changing face of Indian
men’s tennis. For these two young, talented players are named in the
Indian Davis Cup squad for the next round of Asia-Oceania Group I match
against New Zealand in Chandigarh from this September 14.
Saketh
is delighted and feels it a huge honour to get a chance to represent the
country in such a prestigious championship. “As any sportsperson will
feel great about the chance to play for India, I am no exception. This
is what I have been waiting for,” says Saketh. Another interesting
aspect is that both Vishnuvardhan and Saketh are trained by the untiring
and dedicated coach C.V. Nagaraj.
Effectively, the journey from
the backyard of RRC Grounds in Secunderabad to the Davis Cup squad is
also a reflection of a remarkable story of triumph of commitment, hard
work and intense desire to keep improving over adversity. “I take pride
that both of them come from my school – School of Power Tennis Academy,”
says a visibly delighted Nagaraj.
“Ever since I was 14, Nagaraj
sir moulded me into a performing player. I am fortunate to have such a
gentleman as a coach,” says Saketh, who won the Senior national
championship early this year, beating his friend and Academy teammate
Suresh Krishna in the final.
For this gifted player, it can be a
simple case of moving closer to realising one of his dreams – to play
for India in the Davis Cup – when he is named in the national team for
the next round of match in Chandigarh later this month.
“I don’t
want to think in terms of pressure because of expectations. Rather, I
will love to take it up as a challenge,” says the 6-foot, 3-inch tennis
player.
Saketh, who’s done Majors in Finance & Economics from
Alabama University, is aware of what it means to be business of winning
in a sports arena too. “It would be unfair to even think of replacing
the greats like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. I mean we all grew up
watching them achieve glory,” he says.
What is remarkable in the
case of Saketh is that he came back last year to India after a five-year
stint in US where he combined academics and tennis with ease. “We have a
long way to go. So in that context, I would personally love to look at
Davis Cup selection as a huge opportunity rather than anything else,”
insists the young champion who admires Andre Agassi a lot.
This
24-year-old tennis player, who won the Junior nationals in 2005,
believes his big serve – often touching 230 kmph – is his strong point.
For someone who loves the grass court, Saketh is working hard with his
coach to master many finer aspects to be a much better player.
Interestingly,
The national champion believes that learning is an endless process and
that any one keen to be good should be ready to face the challenges that
come his or her way. “I don’t look at Davis Cup selection as the end of
it all. It can be the beginning of a new chapter for me in my career.
The onus is on us to perform,” signs off the young champion.
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
To boast of two proteges in the Indian Davis Cup team is indeed an
enviable distinction, which coach CV Nagaraj has toiled hard for years.The
fruits of his struggle have finally been realized as Olympian J Vishnu
Vardhan and the rising Saketh Myneni are in the new-look four-member
Indian team that will meet New Zealand in Asia/ Oceania Group I tie at
Chandigarh from September 14.
In fact, Susheel Narala was the first from Nagaraj’s camp who was in the Davis Cup team way back in the nineties.
“In 1997, when Narala was selected in the team to play Davis Cup, it was a huge boost to my coaching career.
But with two of my boys in the Davis Cup team among the four now, I’m happy for them.
And now, I would like to see more of my wards play for the nation at this level,” said a delighted Nagaraj.
It was the love for the game that made Nagaraj a coach.
Starting
his School of Power Tennis (TSPT) camp in the 1990’s at Railway
Recreation Ground, Nagaraj strives hard to churn out champions.
“My
vision to set up tennis schools was mainly to fulfill a larger mission
to groom world class tennis players in India,” he said.
The
51-year-old coach is inspired by the legendary motivator like John
Maxwell by saying: “Great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes
from passion, not position”.
True to his words, Nagaraj, who moves around the city with his two-wheeler, has been modest about his achievements.
Nagaraj
has had to his credit five men’s National champions that include
Susheel Narla, Vishal Punna, Vishnu Vardhan, Suresh Krishna and Saketh
Myneni.
Apart from the senior champions, he has also under-14 boys
category national winners from TSPT like Anant Sitaram, KH Praveen and
Chetan Pandit.
Vishnu Vardhan has been with Nagaraj since 17 years.
“Vishnu is hardworking and earned his due. He is an attacking baseline player,” said Nagaraj.
The 2011 Grass Court National champion Myneni has a variety in his game.
“He has the unique capability to change the pace.
The
opponent mostly takes time in reading his game and by then he makes
sure he takes the lead,” said Nagaraj, adding, “both Vishnu and Saketh
have big serves and both have very good return of serves”.
Myneni is all praise for his coach.
“He
is one of the coaches whose dedication is amazing. His passion for the
game makes him one of the best coaches that I have come across. What I
like about him is that with modest facilities and with meagre financial
support, he has been able to run the show successfully. He is surely the
unsung coach of Indian tennis,’’ he said.
Vishnu thinks that Nagaraj keeps things simple.
“But
he is very particular about discipline. He has the unique ability and
patience to groom young talent, at the same time not averse to modern
day technology,” said Vishnu
DOING IT AGAIN:Vishnu Vardhan won the Toyota Bangalore Open title, his
second straight success after last weekend's triumph at Mysore.— PHOTO:
K. Gopinathan
: It proved to be a second successive Saturday of extreme delight for
Vishnu Vardhan. The second seed claimed the singles title in the
$10,000 Toyota Bangalore Open ITF tournament that concluded here at the
KSLTA Court. In the final, Vishnu defeated top-seeded Ti-Chen of Chinese
Taipei 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Last weekend, Vishnu had won the ITF at
Mysore and like then, he raised his game for the occasion in a summit
clash that stretched past sunset, thanks to a 100-minute rain-stoppage.
Vishnu's serves were largely spot-on, and with 16 aces, he often notched
the decisive points against an errant Ti, who ranted about line-calls
and even once pointed his hands towards the skies and beseeched the
gods, “I hope you are watching this!”
The opening set initially
went with serve, until wet weather cried halt to the proceedings. On
resumption, Vishnu broke Ti in the fourth and eighth games as the latter
kept hitting wide. Vishnu proved equally adept at the net and soon, he
nailed the first set and was seemingly riding the tide.
Ti though
had other ideas and lived up to his top billing in the second set. He
sliced his shots, imparted spin, slowed the pace and dominated the
rallies with the deft drop shot, often being the sucker punch. The
top-seed broke Vishnu in the third game and though a few points went
through the deuce-advantage conundrum, Ti stayed firm to draw level and
drag the contest into decider.
After the build-up, the third set
proved to be a let-down in terms of a contest, as Vishnu breezed ahead
at a stunning pace under lights, with breaks in the fourth and sixth
games. And as always, when boxed into a corner, Vishnu unleashed his
deep serves, while Ti lost the fight in his mind and crumbled with a
string of errors.
Earlier, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bagged the doubles title. The results (finals, Indian unless specified): Singles:
Vishnu Vardhan bt Ti-Chen (Tpe) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Doubles:
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bt Arun Prakash Rajagopalan & N. Sriram Balaji 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.
Second seed P. Vishnu Vardhan defeated seventh-seeded Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3 in the final to take the title in the Zuari Garden City-ITF $10,000 tennis tournament here on Saturday.
Vishnu, with his powerful serves and consistent returns, prevailed over his 22-year-old rival who did not capitalise on the chances, especially in the tie-breaker of the first set.
Sriram, despite serving half-a-dozen aces and attacking strongly to have Vishnu in trouble, was unable to break his rival's serve in both the sets which offset his spirited effort.
In fact, it was Sriram's serve that came under pressure on several occasions in the first set where the first, seventh and 11th games went to deuce. With both holding serve, the first set went to the tie-breaker.
Remarkable recovery
In the tie-break, Sriram was serving at 6-3, one point away from taking the set, when Vishnu recovered to draw level and finally won 9-7, with Sriram putting one wide over the baseline.
The second set too proved an absorbing affair marked by some keen rallies before Sriram wilted in the eighth game with some unforced errors.
He dropped serve by slamming a forehand return out. Vishnu, who took a 5-3 lead with that break, served out the match in style to emerge a worthy winner.
An elated Vishnu said, “I am happy to win here. Sriram is an improved player and has done well on the ITF circuit in India and is always a tough rival.
“I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had three set points in the tie-break. I had to rely on my experience to get through.
“In the second set, however, it was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a doubles final and a three-set semifinals on Friday.”
Vishnu won $1300 and 18 points while Sriram took home $900 and earned 12 points.
The prizes to the winners were given away by Binayak Dutta, CFO, Zuari Industries. P.S. Vastrad, Deputy Commissioner & District Administrator, Mysore and Chairman, Organising Committee,Karti Chidambaram, Vice President, All India Tennis Association (AITA), K.L. Sudeer, Commissioner of Police, Mysore.
Former Test cricketer Javagal Srinath and KSTA Hon. Secretary Sunder Raju were the others present.
The result (final): P. Vishnu Vardhan bt Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3.
Vishnu Vardhan hopes more Indians would play in grand slams in future
The $10,000 Zuari Garden City ITF Mysore
Open concluded here on Saturday with second seed Vishnu Vardhan staking
claim to the men’s singles title.
Witnessing the finals
were a large number of spectators including former Indian cricketer
Javagal Srinath, who arrived to watch the thrilling finals between
Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji.
Even though Vardhan defeated
Balaji in straight sets, a tough fight ensued between the duo in the
first set, which ended in a tie-breaker.
Speaking after receiving
the trophy, an elated Vardhan said, “I am happy to win here and Balaji
is a much improved player and has done well in the ITF circuit in
India.”
Elaborating on the match, Vardhan said, “Balaji is always
a tough rival. I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had
three set points in the tie break and I had to rely on my experience to
get through.”
Continuing, he said, “In the second set however it
was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a
doubles final and three setter semi-finals yesterday”. He hoped that
more Indian players would be playing at the Grand Slams in the coming
years.
Mandya (Karnataka): Saket
Myneni, the 24-year-old from Hyderabad, won the title in the $10,000
Prem Sugars ITF Men's Future tennis tournament here Saturday defeating
top seed Vijayant Malik 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
The fourth seeded
Myneni outplayed Malik in a lop-sided final that lasted just 54 minutes.
Myneni blasted winners at will against an erratic Malik who struggled
to find his rhythm. Though Malik came up with some strong returns, he
however made quite a few unforced errors.
In the first set,
Myneni playing aggressively, raced to a 3-0 lead breaking Malik in the
second game. He kept up the momentum and wrapped up the set at 6-3.
The
second set too followed the same pattern and Myneni slowing down the
tempo forced Malik into lot of mishits. Myneni broke in the fifth game
and then took a 4-2 lead before closing the set.
Myneni with this win earned $1,300 in prize money and 18 points while Malik took home $900 and earned 12 points. (IANS)
Mandya (Karnataka): Saket
Myneni, the 24-year-old from Hyderabad, won the title in the $10,000
Prem Sugars ITF Men's Future tennis tournament here Saturday defeating
top seed Vijayant Malik 6-3, 6-4 in the final.